No Smile
by Miss Enthusiasimal
Summary: Okay so you know the title would not fit it is called 'No Smile is More Beautiful than the one that Struggles through Tears' this is really sad plz read it is totally worth it. Review!
1. Chapter 1

A/N- So I had some reviews for Reunion about how it was kinda boring coz' in the end Will still got better. Now I thought, what's a story that's still kinda in line with the books but only bad things happen and I came up with this. I figure this happening is a much better ending for my hero than being an empty shell for the rest of his life. I cried when I wrote this, hopefully you will when you read it. :(

**Chapter One-Leaving and Arriving**

He stepped left again, snapped off another shot. An arrow suddenly struck him in his stomach. Pain was all he knew for a moment, he dropped to his hands and knees.

Horace came over to shield him.

"Will, are you alright?" It was a stupid question; he'd seen the arrow go in.

"I'm fine." Said Will and he pulled the arrow out, wincing. He was bleeding a lot.

"No your not. You need a healer."

"This isn't the time, Horace." And he grabbed his bow and three arrows, stepped out of the cover of the shield and sent them off one after the other. He emptied two saddles.

They stood again, sheltering behind the shield. Then he realized something; the majority of the Temujai Archers were focusing on his position.

"Evanlyn!" He called

She glanced up at him, her eyes widening when she saw the blood.

"Relay my directions. We'll get another volley"

She waved her hand, indicating that she understood.

They relayed direction **(A/N I'm lazy so just read what happens in the book from page 278-281).**

Will's vision was foggy and he couldn't really see past the haze.

He saw the outline of Horace battling several Tem'uj and he stumbled forward to protect his friends back.

They fought for what seem an age to Will.

He saw Evanlyn, through the haze, about to be killed by a Tem'uj.

"Evanlyn!" he yelled and he threw his Saxe knife and killed the warrior.

Then Ragnak and Halt arrived though Will barely registered it.

He was so tired. He fell to the ground and closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Then his heart stopped beating.

Halt was shooting down the retreating Tem'uj, and so wasn't paying attention to anything behind him. When all the Tem'uj was gone from his range he turned around.

The first thing he saw was Will.

Just lying on the ground. Still. Too Still

"Will!" he shouted as he ran to his apprentice's side.

He turned him over and saw the stomach wound. He tried to check his pulse, but there was none.

"Will! No, no, no this cannot be happening. Will open your eyes!" Then he realized that his apprentice had gone. That he could not open his eyes. And a single tear ran down his face.

He hugged his apprentice, picked him up and started walking, just for the sake of doing something.

"Halt!" said Horace's voice from behind him. He stopped walking to let him catch up.

"Halt have you seen Will?" he asked

And Halt turned around.

He just stared at his best friends body.

"He's gone." Stated Halt and Horace was crying.

Evanlyn arrived and saw the body of the boy who had meant so much to her these past months and sobbed uncontrollably into Horace's chest.

They were on the boat back home. Will's body was in a casket.

When they arrived everyone cheered. No one who had known Will cheered. They all blamed themselves.

I should have paid more attention to my surroundings; maybe I could have saved him, thought Halt.

I should have protected him better, thought Horace.

I should have stayed with him in Celtica, thought Gilan.

I should have done something more, thought Cassandra.

I should have…

I should have…

I should have…

They all blamed themselves.

When the burly Skandians brought Will ashore everyone went quiet and saluted him.

He was to be buried at Castle Redmont, by now all his former Ward mates knew. They had been given special permission to travel to Castle Araluan to see him arrive they all remembered that horrid day.

They had been called to the Barons study; they had joined together at the staircase.

"Alyss! What are you doing here?" asked Jenny as they met.

"I was summoned to go to the Baron's Study urgently."

"No way! Me too!"

"Do you know what its about?" asked a new voice, George

"George you were summoned too?" asked Jenny

"Yes and I had to leave a very important document I was just finishing, too. I'm very busy of course. This must be important!"

They had arrived and knocked on the door, to see a red-eyed Baron.

"What's wrong, My Lord?" asked Alyss concerned.

"Take a seat, take a seat. I'm afraid I have some unfortunate news to tell you."

They had taken their seats and listened as the Baron told them of Will's passing and how it had happened.

They had cried, a lot.

Now, seeing Will's casket made tears spring into all their eyes.

Halt stepped on Araluan soil once more. This should have been a happy moment, the end of my banishment, thought Halt, but it isn't.

Crowley came over and gave Halt his silver Oakleaf back.

"I'm so sorry Halt." Said Crowley and he turned away

Gilan too was remembering how he had found out.

Crowley had called him to his office.

"Gilan, we have news from Halt."

"What does it say?"

Then he told of how Halt had helped the Skandians defeat the Tem'uj.

"Will…he…um…died in battle. I'm truly sorry Gilan."

"How?" he whispered

"Arrow to the stomach, he received it half-way through but kept shooting at the _Kaijin_ it's really thanks to him that they succeeded."

Gilan was crying now, not much, just a few tears but still.

He embraced his mentor.

"Come on, Halt. Let's get a drink."


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter Two- Banquets and Funerals**_

King Duncan was having a banquet in honour of several things. The return of his daughter, Halt, Horace and of course Will.

When the King made his speech he made sure that Will was a part of it. He owed that boy everything.

"We lost a good man out there. Will gave his life to protect his country. We honour him this evening. I ask you all for a minute of silence in his memory."

When the minute ended everyone started talking, except one table. Crowley, Horace, Gilan and of course Halt.

The next day they all rode to Redmont, Will had been sent ahead. George, Jenny and Alyss had gone back to Redmont two days before the banquet.

They rode in silence.

Halt woke early in the morning on the day of Will's funeral.

He got up and dressed in his best clothes, he rode to the castle when it was time.

Will was to be buried under the tree outside the Ward.

The Ceremony was simple.

People who had seen Will grow up, turned up. Everyone who had known him came of course.

No one noticed the boy standing on the edge of the crowd.

Not even Halt, thought the boy.

The boy walked to the hut on the hill that he knew well. He closed his eyes at the door, when he opened them again they were no longer brown, but pitch black. Not just the irises but also the whole eyes.

The door that had been locked sprung open.

He walked to Will's former room and picked up the mottled Rangers cloak and walked out the door, his eyes turning black and the door locking.

He put on the cloak and seamed to know how to use this correctly for he seamed to fade into the trees.

Just then Halt rose into view.

The boy watched as he wiped away a few stray tears and unsaddled Abelard.

Suddenly Halt had the feeling that someone was watching him. He turned in the direction that the boy sat watching him.

The boy allowed Halt to see a glimpse of him, then his eyes turned black again and he knew that Halt could not see him.

Halt turned away shaking his head. Get a grip, he thought, he's gone, it was a trick of the light.

But he had been so sure that he had seen Will, in those trees.

When Halt went inside, Will, his eyes still black turned into a huge wolf and ran headlong into the forest.

It felt like it had been several years since he had seen Halt, but Will knew that, at least here it had been only about three or four weeks, but over in Wickely it had been over five years, time moved faster there.

He'd learnt so much over there.

How to Morph into his animal, the wolf

How to control the thirst

The magic

The strength

Speed

The mortal weapons

Now it was time to go home, but first he had a job to do.

That was the condition on which he got to go home, he had to kill the Temujai general that had come to assassinate the King.

He ran as a wolf to a small village near Castle Araluan, He ran a lot faster as a wolf, he morphed back into a man, a giant wolf would not go down well here, and set up camp under an apple tree.

He looked around to see if anyone was watching, his eyes turned black and an apple began to grow, very quickly, it dropped fully grown and Will caught it.

This would tide him over until night so he could morph and hunt for some meat.

It was dark now.

Will judged it safe to morph.

When Will became a wolf, his fur was chocolate brown and he was huge.

He stalked his prey in the night. He was good at this, from all those training sessions with Halt.

He pounced and caught the rabbit with ease.

While he ate he thought of the long journey to Castle Araluan. He knew that King Duncan was holding a feast to celebrate Evanlyn's or Cassandra as was her real name, birthday.

Kat'nik, the Temujai General, would have a bow and arrow to shoot him with, but he would also have a sword.

He would hide in the shadows and wait until Duncan made his big speech and would shoot him, this much we were certain of, only the timing was uncertain.

He finished eating, packed up camp and started running again.

He reached Castle Araluan at about six in the afternoon, just as the guest were arriving, he hid in the woods that was close by and waited.

King Duncan was standing up to make his speech, for Cassie's birthday.

"Ladies, Lords and Gentlemen, welcome to Castle Araluan I-"

Suddenly there was a twang and he saw an arrow quickly headed his way, then a huge, brown wolf soaring across grabbed it in its mouth, then as quickly as the arrow it ran to a corner, there was a lot of screaming and shouting now as the wolf jumped over the crowd to a man who Halt could make out, had a bow and several arrows and was now firing them at the wolf.

While Crowley and Halt were trying to whisk people out of the hall, the wolf had lunged at the man and was now killing him.

By now the only people left in the hall was Halt, Crowley, Baron Arald and Sir Rodney to get rid of the huge wolf that seemed to be finished with its victim.

It's a shame, thought the Baron, it really is a handsome beast and now we have to kill it.

Halt and Crowley both shot arrows at it, if the beast got too near them, Sir Rodney and the Baron would take care of him.

The beast dodged the arrows easily, and started running towards them, it already had a cut over its eye.

Will was hurt that Halt was shooting at him.

He started towards him and was ready for Sir Rodney's blow, he tried to swerve away from the sword but the end still got him and created a huge cut in his side, but he didn't care he had to get to Halt.

Halt was staring at him with no fear showing but he was feeling it all right.

He had his knives out.

But the wolf stopped short and just stared at him.

"What the hell is it doing?" asked the Baron

Suddenly, the wolf stood on its hind legs and seemed to shimmer into the form of a boy, with a mottled cloak, and a backpack.

The cowl was obscuring his face.

He pulled back the hood and everybody gasped.

"Hello Halt." Said Will


End file.
